Moving In ... Wethersfield

Brooklynites Debra Ehrlich and her mother, Shirley Ehrlich, began their search for a home two years ago.

Lifelong apartment renters, the pair originally started a search for a "mother-daughter" property on Long Island, quickly learning it was beyond their budget.

"The property and taxes are sky high," said Debra Ehrlich, who began to consider Connecticut, on the advice of friends who had moved to Rocky Hill from Long Island. "This area is so nice."

Working with agent Jeanette Williams of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Wethersfield, the Ehrlich's saw up to 20 homes over a two-year period, she said. The two-hour drive posed a challenge, so Williams did "a lot of the legwork" and "would check things out and let us know what she saw," said Ehrlich. They searched properties in Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Glastonbury, Cromwell, and Wethersfield.

Many of the homes they saw got "completely ruled out" because they had "too-small rooms in the apartment," or the apartment had been built in "a garage with a sloped floor, or had "a steep staircase," or a tiny, incomplete kitchen, said Ehrlich. Her very independent mother had lived in the same two-bedroom, two-bath apartment for the past 58 years, she said.

"We needed to find a home with a true in-law apartment, not just a room and bath," said Williams.

Then the Ehrlich's finally got the call from Williams about a split-level ranch in Wethersfield. Williams told Ehrlich that, with some minor construction, "it will work."

"They need to make a few changes, but it will allow them to have their separate homes," said Williams. "Attached yet independent."

They both agreed that the house and the "nice, quiet community" was a perfect fit. They offered a low bid and, "with a little back and forth," were able to quickly agree on a price with the seller.

"The closing went very smooth. It was quick. Not one hitch," said Ehrlich, whose long patience has paid off with the right home.

The day of the closing, "Shirley became emotional and began to cry. 'I never thought I'd see the day,' she said," Williams recounted. "Then we all began to cry."